In discussing the premise of the movie The Amazing Spider-Man, director Marc Webb writes, “This is the stuff of classic tragedy. It’s about trying to do good, and by virtue of trying to do good, bad things happen. It’s what [the mythical Greek king] Oedipus does—he goes out and tries to save the city, and he ends up sleeping with his mother.” Webb laughs. “His efforts are noble! But the irony of it is that he causes damage by trying to do good. That is, to me, the most resonant thing of tragedy. Spider-Man is saving people and the world, but it’s at his own expense.”
In writing about how to serve others, When Helping Hurts author Brian Fikkert says, “The . . . church should have a profound sense of urgency to spend ourselves ‘on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.’ ”
Fikkert says we should remember, however, that “good intentions are not enough. It is possible to hurt poor people, and ourselves, in the process of trying to help them.”
I believe that every good deed I’ve been part of in East Africa has traces of things that went wrong or were counterproductive. For example, by giving a child a scholarship to attend a school, I created a temptation for his father to stop working and providing for his son.
However, through serving, giving, and doing we can play a part in expressing God’s love to others—joining Him in doing good, seeking judgment, and relieving the oppressed (Isaiah 1:17). We can do the right things, even though at times imperfectly (Psalm 34:15).
May we reflect the heart of God as we reach out to those in need, living out His loving, compassionate, rescuing ways (Psalm 34:6,17-19,22).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Joshua 24:1-31
More:
Read 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 to see how Paul and Timothy faced danger.
Next:
What steps can you take to follow God’s wisdom and lead in helping others? How has He rescued you?
Gary Shultz on March 6, 2015 at 6:31 am
Wow deep stuff. I think of Christ and how He helped others; however, there was a driving purpose. As he healed many and rebuked demons he silenced them and we ask why? In Luke I think it gives the answer, because I must preach. I certainly think we can do both; however the goal was repentance and redemption, not just relief. So my conclusion is we must be looking to the greater than just relief. Thanks, just adding not disagreeing.
Marlena Graves on March 6, 2015 at 11:07 am
Roxanne, I thought this was very interesting. We are to overcome evil with good. And as you pointed out, sometimes our good intentions aren’t good enough. I think that’s why in many circumstances, we need the body of Christ to give us counsel about the best way to do good to others.
Mike Wittmer on March 6, 2015 at 9:09 pm
Thank you for this, Roxanne. I think books like “When Helping Hurts” and “Toxic Charity” are wise, but they also can leave me with fear that any help I give to others will likely be abused. It is hard to help people in productive ways, but you rightly show that it’s worth the risk.
Roxanne Robbins on March 6, 2015 at 9:34 pm
This is an important conversation and one that merits more context than I’m afraid my post allowed. My understanding of giving changed the first time I visited a developing country. I was in a van with the missions team I was volunteering with. When begging children approached us, I opened my window and handed them candy. I loved seeing their faces light up so was caught by surprise when the leader of our group, who’d lived in the country many years, stopped me and kindly said, “Our ministry asks that visitors please don’t hand out candy or money.” I later understood the wisdom in his advice as it pertained to the situation we’d been in. I’m with you, Mike, that giving isn’t something that should come with fear of doing wrong attached. After close to a decade of living in Uganda though, I realized how important it is to seek counsel, as Marcia writes above, and study the culture to learn what would best benefit the people we desire to serve.